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Governance of Parliament

Speaker at Prime Minister's Questions, 16 March 2022. © UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor

How does Parliament govern itself? Who controls the business and procedures in both Houses? Which individuals and bodies provide leadership, and how are their powers distributed? Do MPs and Peers have sufficient resources to perform their legislative and scrutiny functions?

Guides / What is the debate on the ‘Address’?

After the King's Speech has been delivered, each House must respond to it. This response takes the form of a 'humble Address' from the House to the King, thanking him for the Speech. The debate on this motion is properly called the 'Debate on the Address'. The debate lasts for several days in each House and provides an occasion for a wide-ranging and constitutionally significant discussion about the Government's policies and programme.

06 Nov 2023
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Guides / What is the State Opening of Parliament?

State Opening is the ceremony that takes place to formally mark the start of a new Session of Parliament. It is a historic ceremony rich in constitutional symbolism. Most importantly, it is the only regular occasion on which all three of Parliament's constituent elements – the Sovereign, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons – normally meet together.

06 Nov 2023
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Guides / What is the King’s Speech?

The King’s Speech is the vehicle through which the Government sets out its legislative programme for a new Session of Parliament. The Speech is the central element of the State Opening of Parliament. The King’s Speech may also be referred to as the 'Gracious Speech'. It is written by the Government; the Monarch simply reads it out. However, the references which the Monarch makes in the Speech to 'my Government' reaffirm the constitutional fact that, formally, the Government is the King's Government and is appointed by him.

06 Nov 2023
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Blog / How does a former Head of Government end up on trial for evidence given in Parliament? The case of Austria’s Sebastian Kurz

On 18 October Austria’s former Federal Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, is due to go on trial accused of giving false testimony before a parliamentary investigative committee. In the UK there has been a live debate for some years about what Parliament should do if Select Committee witnesses are thought to have given false evidence. Compared to the UK, how and why are the proceedings of Austrian investigative committees more closely linked to the courts, and what challenges has this posed?

17 Oct 2023
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Blog / Hybrid Bills and Parliament: History, procedure and controversies

Two of the UK’s most contested current public projects, the HS2 rail line and the proposed Holocaust Memorial in Westminster’s Victoria Tower Gardens, are both underpinned by a rare and sometimes controversial form of legislation: the Hybrid Bill. What are Hybrid Bills, what are they used for, how do they differ from Public and Private Bills, and what are the procedural and political consequences if a Bill is judged to be hybrid?

15 Oct 2023
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Publications / A New Normal? Parliament after Brexit

09 Mar 2020
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Blog / Whose House Is It Anyway?

12 Oct 2017
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Events / Lord Speaker Hustings 2016

01 Apr 2016
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Briefings / What next for e-petitions?

18 May 2012
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Reports / Opening Up The Usual Channels

02 Dec 2002